Deng scores 23 and Noah adds 20 in 99-93 victory over the Magic

There are certain things fans have come to expect in the Tom Thibodeau era.

A coach who doesn't sit down. Relentless defense and rebounding. And, more often than not, a strong reaction to even one loss.

And so it was again Tuesday night at the United Center. The Bulls rallied from a seven-point deficit late in the third quarter to defeat the Magic 99-93, narrowly missing limiting their 10th straight regular-season opponent below 90 points.

That would have been a franchise record. Avoiding two-game losing streaks as often as the Thibodeau-led Bulls do only feels like one.

The Bulls experienced just one two-game losing streak in the lockout-shortened season and a mere four in Thibodeau's first 82-game campaign. They haven't lost two straight games at the United Center since dropping five straight under Vinny Del Negro in March 2010.

"It wasn't pretty, but we just found a way," Joakim Noah said. "This isn't going to cut it against the better teams in the league. We have to get better."

The Bulls trailed 70-68 entering the final period but got a strong finish from the rarely-seen group of Luol Deng, Joakim Noah, Nate Robinson, Taj Gibson and Jimmy Butler. Deng scored eight of his team-high 23 points in the fourth, while Noah finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and five blocks.

Robinson played all but 39 seconds of the fourth quarter in relief of Kirk Hinrich, contributing 11 points and six assists. Gibson added the exclamation point with 39 seconds left, dunking home and finishing a three-point play.

But it was Butler's 12-minute stint that raised the most eyebrows.

"Just because the way (Arron) Afflalo and (J.J.) Redick were putting so much pressure on us, along with (E'Twaun) Moore, we wanted to change the defense up a bit," Thibodeau said. "You can't measure Jimmy statistically in how well he played. He was tremendous."

Butler admitted to being surprised he played the entire final quarter.

"But I was ready," he said. "I'm trying to be that energy, effort guy and try as best I can not to let my guy score while being a great help defender."

Challenged by Thibodeau to improve their defensive transition after Saturday's dismal loss to the Hornets, the Bulls held the high-scoring Magic to nine fast-break points and 41.9 percent shooting. The Magic, led by Afflalo's 28 points, played without Jameer Nelson, Al Harrington and Hedo Turkoglu.

"We just played with a lot more energy in the fourth," Gibson said.

The Bulls opened the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run capped by a Noah jumper.

"It's similar to the way he started two years ago," Thibodeau said. "He's doing it a lot of different ways. He's running the floor. He's offensive rebounding. He's posting. He has confidence in that 17-foot shot. He played a great all-around game."